靈魂夫人〔艾瑞莎富蘭克林〕＆英國天王〔喬治麥可〕──兩大靈魂美聲的合作──英美冠軍──〔I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)〕

Like a warrior that fights
And wins the battle
I know the taste of victory

Though i went through some nights
Consumed by the shadows
And was crippled emotionally

Somehow I made it through the heartace
I escaped
I found my way out of the darkness, kept my faith
Kept my faith

(Chorus)
And the river was deep I didn't falter
When the mountain was high
I still believed
When the valley was low
It didn't stop me
I knew you were waiting
Knew you were waiting for me

With and endless desire
I kept on searching
Sure in time our eyes would meet

And like the bridge is on fire
The hurt is over
One touch and you set me free

I don't regret a single moment
Looking back, when I think of all those disappointments
I just laugh, I just laugh
(Chorus)

So we were drawn together through destiny
I know this love we share was meant to be

被譽為‘靈魂夫人（Lady Soul）’的黑人巨星艾瑞莎富蘭克林（Aretha Franklin）自６０年代出道後便在黑人與流行界創出一連串佳績

擁有１９首黑人榜冠軍　１５首金單曲（其中１４首銷售百萬張）　以及眾多暢銷曲

不過艾瑞莎在７０年代後期開始走下坡

１９８０年她加入Arista唱片　逐漸東山再起
１９８５年　富蘭克林以大碟〔Who Zooming Who〕重新獲得流行市場肯定後 　暢銷百萬張
１９８６年秋天　４４歲的艾瑞莎推出與原製作群合作的〔Aretha〕專輯 （這是她第三張以此為名的專輯）

著名普普藝術家安迪沃荷（Andy Warhal）還為她繪製大碟封面

這也是他生前最後一張作品

〔Aretha〕首支主打是與２３歲的英國當紅偶像喬治麥可（George Michael）合作的歌曲〔I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)／我早知道你在為我等待續〕

此曲為當時仍沒沒無名的SimonFischer與Dennis Morgan所寫
並由當紅製作人Narada Michael Waldan操刀

這也是喬治第一首灌錄的非本人譜寫歌曲

艾瑞莎富蘭克林是喬治心儀許多的偶像　因此他相當興奮
〔I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)〕是首編曲華麗　節奏輕快的流行-靈魂／成人抒情歌曲
兩位黑白靈魂巨星使盡全力盡情發揮 　宛如一場美聲饗宴
此曲在１９８７年２月登上了美國流行榜冠軍
這是艾瑞莎生平第二首流行榜冠軍　距離上一首〔Respect〕剛好２０年！
此外也登上成人抒情榜＃２　黑人榜＃５　舞曲播放＃１２　舞曲銷售＃３３

〔I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)〕也登上英國榜冠軍

成為富蘭克林唯一一首在不列顛掄元的單曲

這也是喬治個人第３首　加上〔Wham〕團體時代是第７首英國冠軍

至於國際市場也相當成功　拿下澳洲＆荷蘭冠軍　加拿大＃４

〔I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)〕與接下來幾首單曲的成功也讓目前已絕版的〔Aretha〕大碟銷售頗佳（美國９０萬張）
我直到９０年代才接觸到〔I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)〕
另外 MV拍得也不錯 雖然內容很簡單
但裡面的喬治麥可的肢體語言很有魅力 非常具有大將之風
推薦給喜歡８０年代歐美流行樂的朋友

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDxzQJaA228